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On the eve of the first test of the year in Jerez, the FIM published the entry lists for Superbike, Supersport, and Supersport 300. Among all the lists of registered riders, the most surprising was the SBK's. Not because there's anything new going on, but because there are still two empty places with just a few weeks left before the start of the championship.
First off, Lorenzo Savadori wasn't on the list. He was supposed to race with Team Pedercini's Kawasaki, but the sponsors changed their minds. According to the official document, the Italian team will have only one bike, and no one knows who the rider will be.
The other vacant bike is one of the two MIE Racing Team's CBR1000RRs, Moriwaki's team. Takumi Takahashi will be riding a Honda, while the other bike still needs a rider.
Besides what was previously announced, there's really nothing else new. With Savadori temporarily out of the game, only two Italian riders will be present: Federico Caricasulo with the GRT team's Yamaha, and Michael Ruben Rinaldi with the GoEleven's Ducati.
In a championship dominated by British riders, also when it comes to numbers (7 out of 20 registered), Italy gets its revenge thanks to Ducati, with 6 Panigale V4s on the grid, as compared to 5 Yamahas and Kawasakis, 4 Hondas, and 2 BMWs.
29 riders will be participating in the Supersport in 2020, including 5 who will only race in the European Cup (with one place still vacant). Even in the 600, the Italians are not too numerous. Defending the Italian flag will be Andrea Locatelli (from the Moto2) on the Evan Bros' Yamaha, along with Raffaele De Rosa and Federico Fuligni, who will be presenting MV Agusta's colors with the reigning champion , Randy Krummenacher, as a teammate. The fourth Italian , Axel Bassani, will only be racing in the European.
As for the bikes, Yamaha monopolizes the line-up with 21 R6s in the starting blocks.
As always, the Supersport 300 is the most crowded, with 50 riders at the starting line. This goes to show that it's an introductory category with low costs, so it still makes sense.
The Italian team is numerous, with Filippo Rovelli, Alfonso Coppola, Kevin Sabatucci, Bruno Ieraci, Thomas Brianti, Jarno Ioverno, Alessandro Zanca, Grabriele Mastroluca, Leonardo Carnevali, Emanuele Vocino, Francesco Prioli, and Kim Aloisi.
